Never Got to Hear Him Play
by trancepanda
Summary: A friendship turns into a crush. The crush turns into something more, but he can never bring himself to say a word. Unrequited love is a bitch, and Manic knows first hand. a series of ficlets. MANOURGE manicxscourge.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**1.**

One day he disappeared. No one was really sure where he went. The two most prevalent theories were that he hopped on a train and skipped town or his abusive old man finally killed him and he's buried in the backyard. Manic choose to believe the train theory, just because it made his heart hurt less.

In the end, he never really did get to hear him play.

* * *

Xxx

* * *

The first time Manic noticed him was during the summer after seventh grade. Sonic had somehow convinced him to go on a cross-town jog to the border of Peach Tree and back. (Peach Tree was the name of the low-income neighborhood on the south end of town. It was separated from the rest of the town by a set of train tracks, turning the saying 'from the wrong side of the tracks' into a reality.)

As they jogged past the train tracks they heard a commotion from one of the houses nearby. There was a loud crash, the sound of glass breaking, and then an obviously drunk voice roared: "GET OUTTA HERE YA' LITTLE SHIT!" The screen door banged open and a hedgehog wearing hand-me-down clothing and an oversized leather jacket stumbled out of the house, one of his cheeks already swelling. He stood on the dilapidated front porch for a moment, looking oddly vulnerable and defeated. Then he shook his head briskly, hopped off the porch and walked down the street, further into Peach Tree.

"Dude, Knux said that Scourge's dad was abusive but…I thought he was joking," Sonic sounded a little queasy.

Manic didn't say anything, he just watched Scourge grow smaller and smaller as he got farther away.

* * *

Xxx


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**2.**

* * *

They became friends during the freshmen year of high school.

* * *

They were in the same 4th block English class and had been put at the same table thanks to the teacher's seating chart (although the fact they were both late and only two seats were left unoccupied probably had something to do with it too). Since the first day is generally considered to be a goof-off day they spent the entire block chatting between themselves. They started off talking about books (Manic was an avid comic reader and, surprisingly enough, Scourge was a fan of Lovecraft) and moving onto music (both agreed that punk and metal were good, although Scourge professed a fondness for psychobilly) and movies (Manic enjoyed comedies and Scourge mostly watched horror).

During a lull in the conversation Manic mentioned that he wanted to get his ear pierced but couldn't find anyone who would do it for a reasonable price and didn't want to do it himself in case he screwed it up. Scourge, who had put enough metal into his face over the summer to make Manic wince just looking at him, offered to do it for ten bucks and a sandwich.

And thus, with the exchange of a crumpled ten dollar bill and a slightly stale turkey sub from the cafeteria, their friendship was born.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own Nothing**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**3.**

* * *

Scourge was the first person that Manic came out to.

* * *

It was the mid-November and the air had a painful nip to it. They were huddled together underneath a tree just off of school property. Manic was waiting for Sonic to get out of detention and Scourge simply didn't want to go home yet. Snow fell sporadically from the slate grey sky and Scourge shivered in his thin leather jacket. The flame patches had fallen off the day before and he had messily sewn a Sex Pistols patch that he had stolen from a local record shop onto the jackets left shoulder. The only piece of winter clothing he owned was a thick, hand-knitted scarf that Fiona Fox had made him. It was ridiculously long (it had been one of her first attempts at knitting) but it was warm and he had it wrapped three times around his neck. The frayed ends hung just below his waist and moved with the wind.

Manic leaned against the tree and tilted his head back so that he could stare at the sky, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. "Hey Scourge."

"Yeah?" Scourge pulled his scarf a little tighter and took a drag from his cigarette, wincing as his busted lip (the result of accidently closing the front door too hard and rousing his father from a drunken stupor) shifted to mold against the filter.

Manic took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to dispel some of the nervous energy that had pooled in his stomach, "What would you do if uh…theoretically….if I told you I was…gay?" Manic hunched his shoulders protectively inside his winter coat and glanced nervously at his heavily pierced friend from the corner of his eye.

Scourge chuckled, "So you're finally coming out of the closet, huh?" he looked at Manic, smirking.

Manic could feel his face turn bright red, "Wha—no, dude I said hypothetically! I mean, there's nothing wrong with being, but I was just, not really, uh…" he realized he was rambling and trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Scourge chuckled again, "Manic, we both know you're queer. There's no shame in it. You like dick, so what? I don't give a shit one way or the other." he shrugged and flicked his cigarette butt away.

"So…y-you're okay with it?" Manic asked hesitantly, feeling hope well up in his gut.

Scourge looked annoyed, "Isn't that what I just said? Damn, learn to listen."

Manic beamed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own Nothing**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**4.**

* * *

Manic realized that he had a crush on Scourge on December 23.

* * *

Thanks to his friendship with Scourge he had been invited to the Peach Tree kids annual Christmas Party. The party was held at Scourge's house that year because his dad had gone to the next town over 'to get shit-faced and buy a hooker' (Scourge's exact words).

The party (if you could even call it a party) was basically a bunch of kids sitting in an unheated house, drinking stolen booze, and listening to music on a set of shitty speakers that Drago Wolf had pulled out from god-knows-where. Because it was being held at Scourge's house he was in control of the music and, therefore, they were fed a steady diet of The Grims, The Young Werewolves, and Zombie Ghost Train.

Through a series of events that Manic didn't quite remember they (just like many teens in cliché 80's movies) ended up playing spin the bottle. Due to Peach Trees rather blasé approach to life the rules of the game were very simple. You kissed whoever the bottle landed on for thirty seconds, regardless of that person's gender or sexuality.

Scourge spun the bottle casually and took another pull from the beer clenched in his fist. Manic watched the bottle spin, feeling both nervous and intrigued by the possibility that it might land on him. To his (not entirely unpleasant) surprise, it did.

There was a moment of silence and then someone wolf-whistled. A girl from over by the speakers began to chant, "Kiss. Kiss. Kiss." More and more people began to join in until the entire room had picked up the chant (except for Patch because he was laughing too hard.)

Scourge rolled his eyes, "Damn yaoi fangirls." He chuckled and turned towards Manic, "Gotta give the people what they want, right?"

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Manic's.

Over the next thirty seconds two things registered in Manic's mind.

The first: Scourge's tongue ring felt really, _really_, awesome.

The second: he didn't think that the weird warm, tingly, bubbly feeling in the pit of his stomach had anything to do with being shit-faced.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**A/N: If you're interested I have another manourge story posted on here called **_**hail to the king**_**.**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**5.**

* * *

Jealousy was, as Manic found out, a completely miserable feeling.

* * *

New Years Eve rolled around and Scourge's father had still not returned so Scourge decided to have another party. This party was much more upbeat than the Christmas party (Christmas was always a depressing time of year in Peach Tree) and despite the fact that the small house was unheated the accumulated body heat from roughly two dozen drunken teens made it almost unpleasantly warm. Drago had pulled his speakers out again and they were blasting The Casualties' _We Are All We Have_ so loudly that Manic could easily hear it from his place on the front porch.

He had been on the front porch for the past twenty minutes after seeing Scourge and Fiona disappear into an empty room. An unexpected wave of jealously had hit him as he realized what that meant and for a moment it felt like he was suffocating as his chest tightened and his stomach twisted itself into knots. A desperate need for fresh air had overcome him and he had stumbled outside (he was slightly hammered, it was a party after all) and leaned against the porch's rickety railing, taking deep breaths and trying to dispel the tightness in his chest.

The screen door opened and closed behind him with a bang and he turned to see Scourge, who was wearing a thin white shirt in place of his usual jacket. He stared for a moment without meaning to. Scourge's fur was more disheveled than usual and a small smile seemed to brighten his entire face. He looked, well, hot. This train of thought was cut off by another unpleasant jolt of jealousy as Manic realized that he had never seen Scourge actually smile before. He had seen him smirk plenty of times, sure, but never legitimately smile.

The heavily pierced teen nodded serenely to him and joined him by the railing, pulling a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket and lighting one.

"Can I get one of those?" Manic asked without thinking. Normally the thought of smoking wouldn't have even crossed his mind but right now he needed something to distract him from the miserable feeling in his gut.

Scourge quirked an eyebrow and looked at him skeptically for a moment. He shrugged, pulled the cigarette from his mouth, and handed it to Manic before lighting another one for himself.

The harsh smoke made Manic cough violently. His eyes watered and his throat burned. His head swam unpleasantly. But at least it kept him from thinking about his crush, who was standing not three feet away from him, smelling like sex, and looking hot, and _smiling_. Another pang of jealously rolled through him and he took a deep drag from his cigarette, relishing the way it made his chest ache.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**6.**

* * *

The first time Manic ever saw Scourge smile because of him was on August 4th during the summer after freshmen year.

* * *

The two green hedgehogs sat on either side of their small campfire. They had set up camp in a clearing in the woods that bordered the west side of town. The stars twinkled above them and the night air was alive with the sound of wildlife.

"Hey Manic."

"Yeah?"

"You ever thought about leaving?"

"Leaving? You mean like leaving town?"

"Yeah."

"No, not really dude…why, have you thought about it?"

Scourge laughed, sounding slightly bitter, "Thought about it? Hell, I did it, did I ever tell you about that?"

"No, what happened?"

"Summer after seventh grade my old man lost his shit and knocked out one of my teeth. It was, like, my last baby tooth so it didn't really matter but it woke me up, man."

There was a sharp twinge in Manic's chest. He knew Scourge's dad hit him some times, but knocking out one of his _teeth_? "Woke you up?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level so Scourge wouldn't know how bothered he was.

Scourge nodded gravely, "Yup. I realized that Peach Tree is like a goddamn dead end. You're born there, you live there, you become a bitter asshole there, and then you die there. The only chance you've got of avoiding that is getting the hell outta dodge and leaving." He paused, frowned slightly, and then shook his head, as if to dispel bad thoughts, "So I hauled ass outta there."

"Where were you planning to go?"

"Planning? Heh, shit I wasn't planning. I just threw on my shoes, swiped fifty bucks and started walking north. Figured I'd go on until I just couldn't anymore."

"So you were planning to just collapse somewhere?"

"No. I wasn't planning, I told you that. I just…shit I dunno man… I just…I wanted to get lost, ya know. I wanted to walk and, and just go…" He trailed off, looking wistful.

"…what happened?"

"I walked. I walked outta town and just went. The freedom, damn, you have no idea. That feeling that you could go _anywhere_, do _anything,_ it was the best thing I'd ever felt..." He trailed off again and scowled bitterly.

"Then what?"

"Cops caught up to me. Old man called 'em when he finally sobered up enough to notice fifty bucks were missing."

The weight of that settled onto Manic's chest like a stone. His dad had called the cops over his _money _not the fact his _son _was missing. And if his dad had knocked out one of his teeth for no reason imagine what he had done when he had a reason. Manic winced at the very thought, "…That sucks dude." He didn't know what else to say so he tried to put as much emotion into the words as he could to let Scourge know that he cared and that they weren't just empty platitudes.

"Yup." Scourge said flatly. He stared into the fire, looking pensive.

The silence stretched out.

"…hey maybe I could come with you next time you just 'start walking'. You could probably use some company. I bet it gets lonely on the road."

"You'd do that?" Scourge looked up at him, surprised.

"Of course man I lo-," he cut himself off mid-word and hoped Scourge hadn't noticed, "I mean, you're my best friend dude. Of course I would. So whaddya say? Sound good?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. It sounds great actually. I'd like that." Scourge smiled. It was a small smile, barely noticeable in the flickering fire light, but it made butterflies flutter pleasantly in Manic's stomach.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Never to Get Hear Him Play**

**7.**

* * *

When Scourge got high, he got cuddly. Manic both loved and hated it.

* * *

They were lying on top of a grassy hill not far from Manic's house. Scourge had taken off his jacket, folded it up, and was using it as a make-shift pillow. His bloodshot eyes watched the clouds slowly move across the sky. One hand held the still burning roach and his other arm was wrapped around Manic's waist. Manic had laid his head on Scourge's chest, feeling pleasantly stoned and listening to the other teen's heartbeat. Neither of them spoke and the only sound came from Manic's portable Ipod speakers which were playing the song _Your Love_ by The Dirty Heads.

Manic nuzzled his head a little deeper into Scourge's chest, feeling the hard contours of muscle underneath the thin wife-beater (Scourge worked part-time unloading trucks at a nearby storage warehouse and it showed). He took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of cigarettes, pine soap, and something that was uniquely Scourge. If the other teen noticed that Manic had just sniffed him he didn't say anything.

Scourge twisted his arm awkwardly to drop the roach into the soda can they had employed as an ash tray and, now that his hand was free, began to play idly with Manic's hair.

Manic closed his eyes and pretended for a moment that Scourge wasn't stoned out of his skull. He pretended that this happened when they were sober too and that Scourge loved him back. He kept pretending even when the longing feeling in his chest became so strong that it was almost physically painful.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**8.**

* * *

Scourge usually ignored Halloween but that year Manic made a point of dragging him out to trick-or-treat.

* * *

"Manic, what the hell are you dressed as?"

Manic smiled, revealing plastic fangs, and ran a hand over his Dracula cape."I'm a vampire." He stated matter-of-factly.

Scourge quirked an eyebrow, "…why?"

" 'Cause it's Halloween, dude. Now come on, we're going trick-or-treating."

"Yeah, I'm not doing that."

"Oh, come ooooon."

"No."

"Pleeeaaaase?"

"No."

"How can you say no to free candy?"

"It's surprisingly easy."

"Oh come on, pleeeeaaase?" In one last ditch effort Manic put on his best puppy dog eyes, the ones that always got Uncle Chuck to give him an extra cookie as a kid, and clasped his hands in front of him in a begging position.

Scourge stared him for a minute, scowling, and then, with a muttered curse, relented, "Fine, dammit. I'll go with you."

Manic pumped a fist in triumph (no one could resist the puppy-dog eyes) and let out a little cheer.

"But," he pointed a finger at Manic's chest, "I'm not wearing a costume and if this sucks you're gonna have to make it up to me."

An idea on how he would make it up to Scourge flashed through his head and he felt his face turn bright red. He quickly shook his head to dispel the thought before it could cause any _adverse _effects on his body and grabbed Scourge by the arm, pulling him down the street like a little kid, "Trust me dude, this is gonna be awesome, but I totally call dibs on the Reese's Pieces."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**9.**

* * *

Scourge didn't care about his own birthday but he always remembered Manic's.

* * *

"Heads up."

A plastic bag stuffed full to bursting landed heavily in Manic's lap and he looked up, surprised.

Scourge smirked and flopped down next to him on the bed, tucking his hands behind his head and crossing his legs, "Happy birthday from F.L.O.P.T."

"Thanks dude," Manic opened the plastic bag and was greeted by a thick and incredibly ugly orange and red scarf, "but what's F.L.O.P.T.?"

"Futureless Losers Of Peach Tree."

Manic chuckled, "That is a really depressing name," he pulled the scarf out, wrapped it around his neck, and began to sift through the rest of the bag, "Not that I'm not grateful, but why did, uh, F.L.O.P.T. give me birthday presents?"

" 'Cause Fiona made you an ugly scarf," Scourge said. His tone of voice implied that it should have been obvious. "That makes you family."

"Family?"

"Yup, you're stuck with us now."

There was a moment of silence as Manic processed this and then he smiled so widely that his face felt like it might split in half, "Dude, that's freakin' awesome!"

Scourge chuckled and Manic continued to sort through the bag. It looked like almost every kid in Peach Tree had gotten him something small. Most of the gifts didn't have names attached but it was fairly easy to tell who had given him what. For example Bean, a youngster who was far too fond of explosives, had drawn him a picture. Admittedly the picture was a little disturbing seeing as it was of Manic exploding but it was the thought that counts.

"Oh, and I got you these." Scourge pulled a pair of drumsticks from the inner pocket of his leather jacket and tossed them onto the bed next to Manic.

Manic launched himself at Scourge and hugged him so hard that later Scourge would swear he felt a couple of his ribs crack.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play**

**10.**

* * *

Scourge didn't believe in love, that made being in love with him even more painful.

* * *

"Hey Manic, you wanna hang after school?" Scourge leaned back against the adjacent locker, picking absently at the Strike Anywhere patch sewn onto his jacket's chest.

Manic dropped his history book into his locker and began to try and shove his thick science textbook into his messenger bag, "Sure dude, but I thought you were hanging with Fiona today. What happened?"

"Eh, she found out that I didn't believe in love and threw a fit for some damn reason," Scourge shrugged, unconcerned, "guess I'm not getting any today."

Manic froze, science book still halfway into his bag, "You don't believe in love?" He asked, hoping desperately that he had misheard him, "Are you serious bro?"

"As serious as a midget in a nudist colony."

"What does that even mea—"

*BBBBRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG*

The two minute bell went off. Scourge cursed softly and pushed himself off the locker, "I gotta go. If I'm late again I'm gonna get ISS."

He wandered off. Manic remained frozen, trying to come to grips with what he had just learned. Scourge didn't believe in love. It hurt to think about because when Manic finally got up the nerve to tell him how he felt (although it was starting to seem like he would never have the courage) Scourge wouldn't believe him.

It felt like a large hand had grabbed his heart and began to squeeze.

He felt tears begin to burn beneath his eyelids.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Never Got to Hear Him Play.**

* * *

As it turned out, Scourge was a cuddler when he slept.

* * *

"Holy crap dude, what happened to you?"

Manic stepped numbly aside as Scourge, who was battered, bloody, and bruised, clambered his way through the Manic's bedroom window.

"Can I crash here tonight?" Scourge asked without preamble.

"Sure man, of course." Manic sat down on the bed and gestured for Scourge to make himself at home. "But what happened to you?"

Scourge paused in the act of pulling off his jacket and looked over his shoulder. Even with a black eye he managed to shoot Manic a look that very firmly said that he wouldn't be talking about it. He finished pulling off his jacket, draped it over a chair, and climbed onto the bed.

Manic felt his face heating up as he realized he was going to be sharing a bed with his crush and did his best to banish any naughty thoughts. Face still glowing he rolled onto his side, facing away from Scourge, and muttered a goodnight. Scourge hummed neutrally in response and shifted to get more comfortable. The scarred teen fell asleep quickly and Manic spent the next ten minutes trying to ignore the warm fuzzy feelings he got in his stomach from just being able to feel Scourge's body heat and smell his scent. He felt Scourge roll over next to him and gasped in surprise as he felt Scourge's arm circle his waist and pull him closer. He nuzzled his face into the juncture between Manic's shoulder and neck with an incomprehensible mumble and a soft snore.

Manic was positive that his blush was visible from space at this point. He gently tried to extricate himself from Scourge's grip without waking the other hedgehog. That plan backfired miserably however when the arm around his waist tightened and he was pulled back against Scourge's chest.

After several more escape attempts Manic reluctantly resigned himself to his fate.

Or, at least, that's what he told himself.

The butterflies going a hundred miles an hour in his stomach and the bubbly warmth in his chest argued that there was nothing reluctant about it.


End file.
